‘Samudra Manthan’ scheme designed to benefit Adani, says Congress

Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil addresses a press conference at the AICC office in New Delhi on August 31, 2026. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Alleging that the ₹84,084 crore Samudra Manthan offshore hydrocarbon exploration center plan was designed to benefit the Adani Group, the Congress on Monday (31 Aug 2026) demanded that it be either scrapped or its entire expenditure diverted to the public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil told a press conference in New Delhi that the Union Cabinet had approved the scheme last month with an outlay of ₹84,084 crore for the first phase and claimed to have created a framework under which offshore exploration companies, including state-owned Adani-owned Well Spun Exploration Limited (AWEL), would receive substantial financial support from AWEL.

“The Narendra Modi government has proposed a framework in which Adani will provide support under the Samudra Manthan scheme,” he claimed.

Neither the government nor the Adani Group responded to the Congress allegations.

Mr. Gohil said the government will provide up to 50% financial support for activities including deep wells, 2D and 3D seismic surveys, AI-assisted geological data reprocessing and offshore infrastructure development.

“expensive business”

Oil exploration, especially in deep-sea areas, is a very costly affair, Mr. Gohil said, claiming that the cost of drilling a single deep-sea well can exceed ₹ 1,100 crore.

He said AWEL has exploration rights in blocks in the Bombay Offshore Basin, Tapi-Daman and Kutch and announced plans to start major oil and gas exploration activities in the coming months.

Mr. Gohil questioned the government’s decision to provide financial support to private companies and asked why ONGC, which had decades of experience in hydrocarbon exploration, was not given a primary role in the national mission.

“Why is the Modi government harming the interests of its own ONGC in favor of one private company?” he asked.

“We demand that the Samudra Manthan scheme be canceled or the entire amount of ₹84,084 crore should be diverted to the government’s public sector power giant, ONGC, to create jobs and facilitate exploration,” Mr. Gohil said.

The government has described the Samudra Manthan, or National Offshore Exploration Scheme, as a central sector scheme aimed at de-risking exploration and encouraging investment in the hydrocarbon sector.

According to the government, the scheme, to be implemented by 2030-2031, is intended to strengthen India’s energy security, accelerate domestic exploration and production and boost technological development.

Published – 31 Aug 2026 22:10 IST